Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Presented by: Chan Yi Jia Joanne Tan Yi Wen Nurul AimiNadiah bt. Abd. Mubim Lecturer: Madam Jayanthi Mala a/p Marimuthu
Definition
Assessment means
The evaluation or estimation of the nature, quality, or ability of someone or something.
(www.thefreedictionary.com)
Task-based tests
ability to perform certain tasks
1. Types of text
You need to consult
the objectives for the course what kind of text types are spelt out in the syllabus, what tasks have been taught during the period. (e.g month / semester)
Texts have to be spelt out in terms of their genre (e.g. story, newspaper, report, letter) as well as in terms of topics (e.g. animals, pollution)
2. Operations
To specify is what the candidates has able to do.
receptive skills
listening or reading input
productive skills
texts (speaking and writing).
3. Degree of skill
Slightly different criteria are used for productive and receptive skills. For listening and reading, these criteria can be used:
Size Range
Complexity of text
Complexity of task
For productive skills, you need to use a slightly different list of criteria.
Size
Accuracy
Range (sentences structures, idioms, vocabulary) Appropriacy (how well the candidate fit his
language to the specific context)
4. Formats
In selecting your format for any test, remember to make sure the format has been used before in teaching and testing.
Skill
Objective tests True / false Short answer MCQ Information transfer Rearranging pictures Gap-filling
Listening
Speaking
Aural discrimination, e.g. minimal pairs Making oral responses to different cues Supplying missing elements in conversation
a. Multiple-choice items
Does not need to write anything. Needs only to circle the correct answer. Alternatives need to be simple. Items should roughly follow the sequences of the tape. Students should be given a chance to read to the tape.
Channel conversion
Get pupils to record their understanding in non-verbal ways.
For example, a pupil may be asked to draw the face of the monster in the listening text or to trace the route from point X to point Y from instructions given in the tape and etc.
Summary cloze
Teacher can prepare a summary of the main points in the listening material. Ask students to fill in the blanks in the summary after he has listened to the whole tape.
pronunciation,
Tests of intonation
Test students to produce the correct intonation for a sentence, exclamation, etc. Example:
Read aloud each of the following sentences with the correct intonation.
Reading aloud
It is often used as a test of pronunciation, stress and intonation. The text must be carefully chosen and must contain the specific sounds (vowels, diphthongs, consonants, blend, etc).
These are often paper and pencil tests. Select the kinds of conversations or speaking situations which your students have to participate in.
Then, leave gaps where the student has to fill in appropriate functions. (p.g.357)
Oral interviews
One or two testers interview a candidate regarding a number of predetermined topics. Think of a number of different topics that you can use as stimuli for talk during the interview. Prepare questions that will be appropriate for each level of candidate. Ask question that fit the level you think the candidate is at.
Group discussion
In this kind to test, three to five candidates are tested at the same time. Each group is given a problem-solving task involving role simulation or information or opinion gap.
Try to give feedback immediately: on the spot if possible. Be direct and honest.
Give feedback in private if at all possible, it's insensitive to do this in front of others. It's a good idea to ask permission: "Do you mind if I give you some feedback?". This gives the person time to prepare.
Don't repeat the same point over and over: this will just build up resentment.
Only criticise behaviours that can be changed: "You need to improve your computing skills" rather than "You're stupid"! Don't compare the person with other people, as this can build jealousy.
Use "I" not "You" statements: "I feel upset" not "You made me feel upset". If you are receiving feedback yourself, try to accept it in a positive and non-defensive manner.
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LISTENING
1) One of the largest inhibitors for students is often mental block. While listening, a student suddenly decides that he or she doesn't understand what is being said. At this point, many students just tune out or get caught up in an internal dialogue trying translate a specific word. Some students convince themselves that they are not able to understand spoken English well and create problems for themselves.
Try to teach the students (with differing amounts of success) is that they need to listen to English as often as possible, but for short periods of time.
SPEAKING
1) Students won't talk or say anything.
A completely different reason for student silence may simply be that the class activities are boring. Very often our interesting communicative speaking activities are not quite as interesting or as communicative as we think they are and all the students are really required to do is answer 'yes' or 'no' which they do quickly and then just sit in silence or worse talking noisily in their L1.
So maybe you need to take a closer look at the type of speaking activities you are using and see if they really capture student interest and create a real need for communication.
2)When students work in pairs or groups they just end up chatting in their own language. Are all the students actively involved and is the activity interesting?
If students do not have something to say or do, or don't feel the need to speak, you can be sure it won't be long before they are chatting away in their L1.
Is the activity or task pitched at the right level for the students? Make sure you give the students all the tools and language they need to be able to complete the task. If the language is pitched too high they may revert to their L1, likewise if the task is too easy they may get bored and revert to their L2.
Introduction
Testing
Definition: testing is finding out how well something works.
Teaching
Definition: the activities of educating or instructing; activities that impart knowledge or skill;
In terms of human beings, testing tells what level of knowledge or skill has been acquired. Testing can be in the form of FORMAL or INFORMAL. (Examination/Questioning)
Teaching tries to arrange the context of learning(the materials, the methodology, the classroom), in such a way that the student has the best possible chance of learning what he is attempting to learn.
A test picks put the most important skills that have been taught and uses performance on these as a way of measuring a students mastery of the language areas he is being tested on. Because a test is supposed to pick out the most important aspects of a skill, it is often used as a guide as to what would be the most important things to teach. This is called backwash effect of a test.
Accuracy
Accuracy is the ability to produce correct sentences using correct grammar and vocabulary. Accuracy is relative. A child in early primary isn't capable of the same level of accuracy as an adult. Teachers who concentrate on accuracy help their students to produce grammatically correct written and spoken English. Typical accuracy activities are: grammar presentations, gap-fill exercises
Fluency
Fluency is the ability to read, speak, or write easily, smoothly, and expressively. In other words, the speaker can read, understand and respond in a language clearly and concisely while relating meaning and context.
Fluency generally increases as learners progress from beginning to advanced readers and writers.
Language teachers who concentrate on fluency help their students to express themselves in fluent English. They pay more attention to meaning and context and are less concerned with grammatical errors. Typical fluency activities are: role plays, speeches, communicative activities, games.
A classroom activity may aim either at accuracy or fluency, a distinction first made by Brumfit (1984). An accuracy-oriented activity such as pattern drills is usually used in the teaching of a new target item; A fluency-oriented activity such as extensive reading and information gap aims to develop the students' spontaneous communications skills in using what they have already learned.
Accuracy
Purpose: - to help students achieve accurate perception and production of a target item which can be a sound, a word, or a sentence structure.
Fluency
Purpose: - to help students practice language in listening, speaking, reading, and/or writing activities to so develop fluency in using the language in spontaneous communication. Material: - the texts are usually whole pieces of discourses: conversation, stories, etc.; - texts are usually used as they would be in real life: dialogues are spoken, articles and written stories are read; - an effort is made to use authentic material from real life. Activities: - students' attention is focused on communicating information and expressing ideas; - their output may not always be predictable; their performance is assessed on how well ideas are expressed or understood; - students' errors are not corrected unless it interferes with communication; - tasks often simulate real-life situations.
Material: - the texts are usually composed of separate ("discrete") items: sentences or words; texts may be used in any mode (skill), regardless of how they are used in real life (dialogues may be written, written texts used for listening); - the target items are usually practiced out of context or situation; Activities: - students' attention is focused on a particular target item; -their output is usually predictable; their performance is assessed on how few language mistakes are made; - students' errors are corrected; tasks do not usually simulate real-life situations.
Methodologies in Practice
As far as teaching methodologies are concerned, very broadly speaking the communicative approach is the one that favours fluency the most, while the audio-lingual and grammar translation approaches favour accuracy. Typically, at beginner level when the students don't have enough language to worry about fluency, teachers tend to focus on accuracy. This carries on through to pre-intermediate level when fluency activities like discussions and debates are introduced.
At intermediate level, when the students are reasonably independent language users, a mix of accuracy and fluency is used, with the focus shifting to fluency as students advance.